


Finals Week

by glitchbirds



Category: Ghostbusters - All Media Types, The Real Ghostbusters
Genre: College, Established Relationship, M/M, Polyamory, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-28 04:12:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18748780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitchbirds/pseuds/glitchbirds
Summary: Egon's been a little more subdued lately. Venkman wants to know why.(Brief mention of cheating though that does not actually occur, implied/future Egon/Peter/Ray if this were to actually be continued.)





	Finals Week

**Author's Note:**

> please accept this in its barely-edited state, nearly identical to when i first wrote it from 1AM to 4AM while lying in bed half-conscious.

Everything came to a head one evening mid-May. 

Finals were coming up, which of course meant that Egon was studying at all hours of the night, and Peter... Peter's routine didn't change much, beyond borrowing Egon's notes more frequently. Really, of the two of them, Peter was the only one who actually needed to study, considering how close he was to failing in most of his classes. Egon could sleep in and miss his finals entirely and still get an A- in every class. But a row of A minuses would lead to permanent ostracization from his family, so that route probably wasn't worth it.    
  
Probably.

Egon spent most nights in the labs with Ray, or at the library- Peter was still banned from both of those places, and so he hung around their apartment, watching old Westerns and pining a bit too much. Finals always made Egon hyperfocus on studying. They'd barely spoken in days, beyond rushed words in the morning, whispers in their Parapsychology classes, and sleepy mumbling when Egon crawled into bed in the middle of the night. Peter didn't blame him, of course, but God, he  _missed _ him.

It didn't help that Egon had turned even more reticent than usual in the last few weeks. There was something bothering him, and no matter how hard Peter tried to analyze the situation, he couldn't figure out what. It didn't happen all of a sudden- it was more of a slow buildup of quietness, of awkward pauses and concerned glances. 

Peter was definitely going to have to figure out the root of it at some point. But he was saving that for after finals. No use causing them both extra stress.

Apparently, Egon had other plans.

"You're home early," Peter commented, closing the LaMort paperback in his hands and glancing at the nearest clock. It wasn't even midnight yet. 

Egon nodded once, distracted. He shed his jacket and placed it neatly on the coat rack, then kicked his shoes off with a carelessness that almost seemed intentional. "Editing my research paper took less time than expected."

"'Course it did. It was already perfect." The tiniest hint of jealousy slipped into Peter's words, but it was overwhelmed with a touch of pride. 

"Perfection can't be achieved by a mortal man. I had to rewrite several passages, as well as edit my paper down for exceeding the maximum."

Peter sighed. "Man, do you know what I'd give to be able to write _too much_ for a paper worth half my grade?"

"No. What?"

"Rhetorical question, Spengs."

"Oh."

…   
  
And there it was again. One of those awkward, palpable silences- the kind they hadn't had in at least a year, not since their third "date". Peter watched Egon closely as he fumbled with the straps on his bag. Clearly, he wanted to say something, but just like every day for the past few weeks, he couldn't quite get the words out.

Except this time, Egon exhaled slowly, closing his eyes for a moment as he gathered himself. After a pause, he forced himself to meet Peter's gaze, and said, "I think I'm in love with another man."

Well. 

That wasn't exactly what Peter was expecting to hear, but he probably should've anticipated it to be exactly that blunt.

Peter reeled back a little bit, as if struck by a blow, even as he forced a shaky grin on his face. "Okay." It's ok. He's a grown ass adult. He can handle being broken up with, even if his heart feels like it's twisting up in his chest. 

Fuck. He should've seen this coming.

Egon nodded again, as if Peter had made some astute observation. "I- I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you. I only realized it myself a few weeks ago."

Fuck. He _really_ should've seen this coming. "Okay," he said, again.

And _now_ Egon's frown deepened as he started to register that maybe, just maybe, this /wasn't/ ok, and he crossed the room to the couch. "Are you- are you mad at me?" He asked, sitting down beside him.

"Nah," Peter mumbled, shaking his head. "At myself, a little."

That seemed to confuse Egon even more. "Why?"

Peter shrugged, looking anywhere but at Egon. "Have you- you and this guy been seeing each other long?"

Egon's eyebrows rose. "What? I'm not dating him. That would be cheating." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

For a moment, Peter felt like he could breathe again. Right. Right. Egon would never cheat on him, God, why was he stupid enough to think that he would? But still- "So you want to break up with me so you can ask him out, I guess?"

“ _No_." 

Peter wasn't sure what surprised him most about that- the way Egon raised his voice, almost shouting; the conviction behind it; or the way Egon's hand grasped his like a vice. Egon's eyes were wide, and he looked genuinely rattled. "No, not at all. Never. I didn't- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that at all."

Peter exhaled slowly, and squeezed Egon's hand in his. "Shit. No, I think- that was my fault. I shouldn't've just assumed-"

"I should've been clearer-"

"Hey, stop apologizing so I can apologize." He laughed a little, and his previously twisted-up heart flipped at the faint smile on Egon's own face in return. "Okay. So, you wanted to tell me you've got a crush on some other guy, but you're not gonna act on it."

"Essentially, yes."

"And you figured the best way to tell me was by giving me a heart attack."

Egon winced. "Apparently."

Peter shook his head. "Let me guess. It's Ray."

The dead silence that followed answered that question quite nicely, but eventually Egon gave a little nod. "Yes. I... I've found him attractive for a long time, but only recently realized that my feelings for him run deeper than I thought."

"Well," Peter said, grinning as he leaned forward conspiratorially. "Here's the good news. I'm also a little bit in love with Ray. And I kinda have been for almost as long as I've loved you."

"... Oh." Egon's voice was oddly small. "I see. You- you never mentioned..."

"I didn't think it'd be important. Kinda assumed you were more of the monogamous type, I guess." Peter shrugged.

"You're not?"

"Nah. Polyamory's more my style, but I didn't think you'd be cool with it, so I never brought it up."

Egon frowned. "You should have told me."

Peter gripped his hand a little tighter. "It's not a big deal, man. I'm not gonna like, _die_ if I don't date multiple people."

A brief moment of silence. Egon ran his thumb over the back of Peter's hand. "I know that... there are rumors ever since you started dating me."

"Oh." Peter swallowed, suddenly nervous. Shit. He'd known, of course- but he hadn't wanted Egon to worry.

"Mostly along the lines of speculating about us moving in together, the fact that you haven't been on dates, as far as they know, in over a year- and of course, with the rumors about me..."

"I thought you didn't really pay attention to gossip."

"A few of my classmates are very talkative." 

Peter's eyes narrowed. "They're not shittalking you again, are they?"

"Not directly," Egon said, shrugging. "Not since that incident with the chem student last semester."

"Is he out of the hospital yet?"

"I haven't checked. Anyway, I tend to tune back into what they have to say when they mention you. And... I know your reputation matters a great deal to you."

"Ah-huh..." Cautious, and slightly confused. 

"So- if it would be easier for you to maintain that reputation-"

"Are you giving me permission to sleep around with women?"

Egon blinked. "If it will help."

With a laugh, Peter tugged Egon closer. "You know," he said, "this doesn't solve our Ray problem. At all."

"... Oh. Right."

"You got on a tangent again." Peter kissed him on the nose. "It's fine. We'll figure it out. So- we're both a little bit in love with him, which is fair, because he's probably one of the sweetest guys I've ever met- and you're ok with me dating multiple people. Can I guess this means that if he's into us, too, you wouldn't mind...?"

Egon curled a little closer to him on the couch, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I haven't exactly tried dating more than one person at a time-"

"Color me surprised."

"- but, I think so. I'd be willing to try, at least. But we don't even know yet if he'd reciprocate, let alone whether or not he's attracted to men."

"Leave that to me," Peter said, winking. "I'll figure it out."

"... That doesn't inspire much confidence in me."

"Shut up."

**Author's Note:**

> i'm always thinking about that J Michael Straczynski [interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiJD-kiidpM&feature=youtu.be&t=254) where he's like "Peter's always waiting for someone to disappoint him" and I've decided that was probably way worse in college.


End file.
